Observing Effects of Calcium/Magnesium Ions and pH Value on the Self-Assembly of Extracted Swine Tendon Collagen by Atomic Force Microscopy

Abstract

Self-assembly of extracted collagen from swine trotter tendon under different conditions was firstly observed using atomic force microscopy; then the effects of collagen concentration, pH value, and metal ions to the topography of the collagen assembly were analyzed with the height images and section analysis data. Collagen assembly under 0.1 M, 0.2 M, 0.3 M CaCl2, and MgCl2 solutions in different pH values showed significant differences (P < 0.05) in the topographical properties including height, width, and roughness. With the concentration being increased, the width of collagen decreased significantly (P < 0.05). The width of collagen fibers was first increased significantly (P < 0.05) and then decreased with the increasing of pH. The collagen was assembled with network structure on the mica in solution with Ca2+ ions. However, it had shown uniformed fibrous structure with Mg2+ ions on the new cleaved mica sheet. In addition, the width of collagen fibrous was 31~58 nm in solution with Mg2+ but 21~50 nm in Ca2+ solution. The self-assembly collagen displayed various potential abilities to construct fibers or membrane on mica surfaces with Ca2+ ions and Mg2+ irons. Besides, the result of collagen self-assembly had shown more relations among solution pH value, metal ions, and collagen molecular concentration, which will provide useful information on the control of collagen self-assembly in tissue engineering and food packaging engineering.